The Master's Artist

Question of the Day

The question of goal-setting frequently comes up in author
interviews, but let's paint with an artist's brush: Do your goals tend
to be concrete and measurable or abstract and empirical? Do you set
long term goals, short term goals, daily goals, or some combination of
the three?






J. Mark Bertrand: One of the best books on goal-setting is James Ogilvy's Living Without a Goal. Knowing that, you can probably guess what kind of goal-setter I am. To me, the language of goal-setting has a reassuring objectivity -- set one, work toward it in discreet "action steps," achieve it -- but my process is more like fixate, obsess over fixation, achieve it, fixate on something else. In other words, I tend to see achievement as a vice. All depends on your goals, I guess. As a boy, it was world domination, and I suppose it hasn't changed all that much in the intervening time, so living without it seems best. www.jmarkbertrand.com

Question of the Day

  Some people use the turning over of the New Year as an opportunity
for retrospection. Some use it as a launching point for new ventures.
How do you approach a "New Year"?

I'm more tactician than strategist, so after dwelling on the various things I still haven't managed to accomplish in life, I usually spend New Year's Day trying to figure out how to get through January.

Question of the Day

If you could be any of the colors in the entire color palatte,
which one would it be and why?

Ok, so this is one of those questions similar to "if you were an animal, which one would you be?" but make no mistake, color reveals many things. In fact, there are positive and negative connotations to each color. For example, the positive of red is wisdom but the negative is anger. It makes sense, doesn't it? If every action has an equal and opposite reaction, then it stands to reason that fear is the other side of faith and even colors can have opposite meanings. Yellow is the color of cowardice but also of hope; green is jealousy but also growth...you get the idea. So without revealing too much that might sway you, is there a color you're drawn to? That you seem to "identify" with? That you tend to pick time and again, be it for clothing or housewares or gifts? Let's see what some of the crew around here has to say...

Question of the Day

Hey there MA-ers! I've got three answers to the question below... what do the rest of you think?






The question of the day is:

If you could interview any of your ancestors, who would it be and why?

Question of the Day - Freedom Writers?

On the 4th of July, we celebrate our national freedom and
independence. How do you feel that translates into your writing? Do
you feel free as a writer? Free to express your heart and follow after
what you really want to write about?

Madison Richards: Freedom is a passion of mine, but freedom means different things to different people, so I guess it comes down to a definition of terms. I do want to write without apology - in other words, I want to write out of who I am and this life God has given me, but I don't want to write without accountability.

This is an interesting question. We should  always be free to write what's in our hearts. However, we tend to equate freedom to write with freedom to publish, when in reality the second part of that equation isn't up to us. Of course we're free to follow God and to write from our hearts, but sometimes contracts with man (publishers) will preclude our spending any appreciable time writing what we're passionate about. The internet has changed things in that arena, and blogging has provided a great outlet for people to share their hearts, even if their "paid" time is spent writing and researching for other purposes.

Both are good, and most writers are happy just to be writing. There are so many opportunities out there to write! I just hope that in the flurry of writing so many words we don't somehow dilute our passions, which are so necessary for operating in freedom. Blog: Write on the Edge  Website: madisonrichards.com

Question of the Day - Books Made Into Movies

If you come across a book that's been made into a movie, do you
watch the movie first or read the book? Are they separate acts of
creativity in your mind or do you get upset if the movie doesn't
mirror the plot exactly?




J. Mark Bertrand:
Movie and television adaptations have introduced me to plenty of great books. Has anyone these days ever read Brideshead Revisited without first having seen the television series? I wouldn't have bothered with my favorite Waugh -- the Sword of Honour trilogy -- if I hadn't seen the series first and realized what I'd been missing. I appreciate faithful adaptations while realizing that, given the differences in the media, it's not always possible to adapt material both faithfully and well. If you have to choose, make it well. I do find it frustrating, though, when a film adaptation fails to engage the same issues as the book, or doesn't strike the same tone. Or when, for commercial reasons, the material is homogenized. (Turning a Jane Austen story into the kind of gothic tale she poked fun at, for example -- though I'm naming no names.) www.jmarkbertrand.com 

Question of the Day - Summer Vacations?

What's your favorite summer activity / vacation place? Does
'vacation' to you mean staying or going?






J. Mark Bertrand: My favorite summer activity is coming home. For the past six years, I've spent June and July on the road, teaching for Worldview Academy. So in late May, I pack up my life and put it in a box, then I take it back down in early August. This year it will be especially strange, because Laurie and I have just bought a house. I'll be leaving before we close, and we'll be living there for a month and a half before I get to spend the night. Coming home will be quite a vacation. www.jmarkbertrand.com

Question of the Day: Good Advice

What's the single best piece of writing advice you ever received? Did it come from another writer or someone completely unexpected?

Dee Stewart:
Author, Chuck Palahniuk. He told me if I'm not having fun while writing, then why am I writing it? That's my guage when my scenes don't kick.

Question of the Day: Writing Rituals

Much has been written about writer's rituals. Do you have a ritual or
a routine you follow with your writing? Is writing something that is
divorced from the rest of your life or incorporated into it? Do you
listen to music/keep certain hours/always start with or end with
certain activities?

What are your non-negotiables?

Mike Snyder: I'll take the easy part first. Whenever possible, I do indeed write with music in the background. I subscribe to a music service that provides virtually every album ever recorded with a few clicks. So I can just keep scrolling away till I find the music that fits the scene.

I'm not sure I have any bona fide rituals...although I'm sure I have a few zoned-out nervous tic type things. For instance, I have caught myself twirling my hair like a nine-year old girl before (not kidding). It would be better if I were actually writing from the POV of a nine-year old girl. Oh well...The primary ritual is to get my butt in the chair and start typing.

As far as when I turn the switch on and off, again I get a little fuzzy on that. I carry a pen or two everywhere and try to keep pads and note cards stashed all over the place. So whenever something strikes me as jot-downable, I have to move quickly, in that my memory still stinks! And my writing hours are pretty much the same all the time...nocturnal, beginning as soon as my awesome family beds down for the night.

My non-negotiable is this: Don't write crap! Doesn't actually keep from typing uber-lame sentences. But it's nice ot have a mantra. And it sounds really cool if you say it really loud and reallly fast, sort of bark it out, like a single three-syllable word. Go ahead, try it...you'll see what I mean. Oh, and one more thing: A cup of steaming hot tea, orange spice preferred. Coffee will do in a pinch!
Blog: http://www.snyderman.blogspot.com/

Question of the Day: Heroes

What makes someone a hero? Do you tend to write grand
heroic qualities into your characters or do you prefer the everyday hero?

Jeanne Damoff:

"Hero" is a broad term. In the movie, While You Were Sleeping, Lucy and Peter are discussing heroism, and she points out that he always gave up his seat on the El. He says, "Well. That's not heroic." And she responds, "It is to the person who sits in it."

I gravitate toward character-driven stories when I read. Perhaps that's why I tend to favor "everyday" heroes in my writing--people who show mercy or basic compassion when they stand to gain nothing in return. They may not be called upon to risk their lives, but they risk their hearts. Sometimes it takes more courage to love a difficult person day after day than it does to react to danger when the adrenalin is flowing. Website: www.jeannedamoff.com  Blog: http://ellezymn.livejournal.com